Architecture
Cumberland S.S. #1
The French Hill School House (Cumberland S.S. #1) was built in 1900 on land from the Brennan farm. In many respects this is a typical one-room school house using balloon frame construction. Large windows were needed to provide light because electricity was not introduced to this part of rural eastern Ontario until early in the 1930's. Oil lamps were installed next to the windows to provide extra lighting when necessary. The school was closed in 1936 and the building was moved to its site at the museum in 1976.
One room schools were costly to maintain and the Ontario government encouraged the consolidation of rural schools. The Rugged Road to Learning, a 1921 production from the Ontario Film Board, provides an interesting perspective on life in a one-room school and on educational politics at the time:
Bibliography:
Cumberland Heritage Village Self-guided Architecture Tour. Ottawa: Cumberland Heritage Village Museum, 2015. Print.
The Rugged Road to Learning. Toronto: Ontario Government Film Board, 1921. Film.
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